Bruxism is a detrimental human medical condition characterized by clenching of the jaw and/or grinding of teeth. Bruxism leads to conditions such as severe tooth wear and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorder. TMJ is characterized by painful inflammation of the jaw joint and sinuses as well as headaches and neck pain. It is estimated that 33% of the population has bruxism to some extent and 5-12% of the population suffers from severe TMJ symptoms. Bruxism manifests itself nocturnally, while the user is unconscious and unable to control the clenching and grinding behavior. This is known as sleep bruxism.
There currently are no completely effective treatments for sleep bruxism. The treatments that have demonstrated some effectiveness, such as biofeedback devices, rely on waking the user to cease the clenching behavior. This is accomplished with negative feedback (loud noise or foul tasting fluid) during the clenching behavior. These feedback methods are limited in their effectiveness because bruxism typically occurs during, or when coming out of, a very deep sleep when the user is slow to wake. These methods are also unpopular because they can provide feedback before the user is fully asleep (given an inadvertent bite-down). Also, they have been known to disturb the user's bed partner without waking the user.